Living in Vietnam – I love it!

Let’s wind back the clock to mid-2005. We’re enjoying a nice brew in a quaint coffee shop in a cobblestone laneway off Flinders Street in Melbourne. Small talk is our thing and for some reason you ask me: “where will you be in 2018?” I can assure you that living in Vietnam wouldn’t have been mentioned, let alone living in Vietnam for over 10 years.

So, what’s the fascination with living in Vietnam for me? Am I just one of those odd folk who seem to like all things that others detest with a passion; a harsh climate; poor infrastructure; over population; rivers that ‘flow in clumps’ and infestations of rodents and parasites like you won’t see anywhere else in the world. I’m talking about rats the size of monkeys and prized cockroaches that would be more comfortable in a shoe box than a match box.

Over the past 3,000 years or so there have been plenty of folk like me who have ventured to this part of the world from neighbouring and far-off lands to spend time living in Vietnam. I’m comforted that I’m not ‘Robinson Crusoe’, but mindful that more often than not, those visitors continued living in Vietnam long after the ‘welcome mat’ was pulled from under them.

If you’re remotely precious, there’s a strong possibility that you won’t like living in Vietnam. It’s certainly hard work on occasions and frustrations are plentiful. Holding a passport from a thriving and wealthy country like Australia, as I do, is by itself a pretty good reason not to bother.

From the very first day I arrived in Vietnam, the fascination and attraction has been twofold: the people; and the opportunities. Why have I remained living in Vietnam when I have options available including returning to Australia? The answer is pretty straight-forward; my fascination with the people and the opportunities is still present. Does this make me an ‘oddball’? If it does, I’m happy to wear the title like a badge of honour.

Despite the multitude of issues that make living in Vietnam pretty tough, including the rodents, parasites and the rivers that ‘flow in clumps’ I referred to earlier, my personal experience with local people is that they are genuinely happy with their ‘lot in life’. True, it hasn’t always been like this. Hundreds of thousands of ‘boat people’ are testament there was a period not that long ago, when living in Vietnam wasn’t an appealing option.

The centrepiece of Vietnamese society has not changed since King Hung was a boy; it remains ‘the family’. In stark contrast, I’m an excellent example of how western culture has shifted ground to its detriment. If you get fed up with your family, no problem, just get a new one.

In Melbourne I always fancied myself as a ‘white-picket fence’ kind of guy with family and community as the foundation of a healthy society. I lost the argument in Australia, but time spent living in Vietnam has rekindled my faith.

When I first arrived in Ho Chi Minh City I was minus AUD $7,500 and 44 years of age. The debt thing is a long story. Let me just say the white picket fence came tumbling down on more than one occasion. Was I a product of the environment in which I lived or was something else going on? Who knows? Who cares? Certainly Vietnamese people couldn’t care less. They’re very accepting.

There’s no doubt that time spent living in Vietnam has been a terrific healer for me and provided opportunities that simply wouldn’t have been available in my homeland. Don’t get me wrong. I love Australia, I love the company of fellow Australians and I pine for some time with my daughters and other family members in Australia. I miss live Aussie Rules Football, freely expressing opinions on political & social issues and there’s not much that I wouldn’t do for a paper bag full to the brim with Aussie ‘dim sims’ from the local ‘chippy’.

Living in Vietnam has given me the opportunity to ‘reinvent myself’ for the better. People who know me might go as far as to say, living in Vietnam has allowed me to ‘find myself’. Maybe they’re right. I can certainly point with a sense of pride to a few things that have occurred during my time here and it’s good to know that the quintessential extended Vietnamese ‘family’, happy and generous, is always close by to put things into perspective and offer support when needed. Yep, I love living in Vietnam. It’s all about the people who live here and the abundance opportunities. I’m very grateful.

About the writer: Peter Goudge has been living in Vietnam since 2006. He is the Managing Director (and owner) of Australia-Vocational Skills & Education (AVSE-TESOL) and the Australia-Vietnam School of English.